Oscillating baby bed



June 24, 1969 .J. D. cosnsu.

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United States Patent US. Cl. -109 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An oscillating baby bed having a stationary main frame and a mattress frame or bed spring pivotally mounted intermediate its longitudinal ends above the main frame, a crank shaft having an eccentric portion thereon rotatably mounted on the main frame below the bed spring, a motor mounted on the main frame and driving the crank shaft and an arm pivotally connected at its upper end to the bed spring and at its lower end having a portion received around the eccentric portion of the crank shaft; rotation of the motor will cause an oscillation of the bed spring around its central pivotal connection.

The present invention relates to an oscillating baby bed wherein the bed spring (or mattress frame) is capable of simulating a rocking or bouncing motion with respect to the main frame of the bed. It is well recognized that a rocking motion will tend to put a baby to sleep or stop him from crying. The mother may rock the baby in her arms or she may rock him in a rockable cradle or bed, providing one is available.

It is understood that numerous devices have been constructed or proposed for providing an automatic rocking motion or the like to a bed; however most of these devices involve a horizontal to and fro motion or a sideways motion. The present invention, on the other hand, provides an extremely simplified construction wherein the bed spring or mattress frame is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends and wherein a general oscillating motion can be applied to the bed spring by means of a pivotal connection to one end of the bed spring.

Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an oscillating bed of the type described herein wherein the bed spring is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the bed frame and wherein an oscillating motion is imparted to the bed spring by means of the application of an up and down force at one end of the bed spring.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an oscillating bed of the type described herein which is relatively simple and inexpensive to construct and which is efficient to operate.

Other and further objects and advantageous features of the present invention will hereinafter appear in connection with a detailed description of the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation showing the device of the present invention attached to an essentially conventional baby crib, the latter being shown in dotted lines;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along section line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing details of the central pivotal connection for the bed spring;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the driving connection between the crank shaft and the end pivotal connection for the bed spring; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, with certain parts shown in dotted lines, showing the shielding "ice means over the driving connection between the motor and the large pulley.

Referring to the drawings in detail the baby bed, shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 1, and generally designated by the reference character 10 includes a spring 12 (or mattress frame) which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends in a manner later to be described. A motor 14 is mounted on longitudinally supporting structure in a manner later to be described and provides an up and down movement for one end of the spring 12 as will now be described. A transverse shaft 18 is rotatably mounted on the longitudinal frame members 40 by means of the sleeve bearings 24 (see now FIG. 4). A rod 20 extends across the right hand end of the bed spring 12 (as it appears in FIGURE 1) in a position above the shaft 18. A pair of arms 22 (only one of which is shown in FIG- URE 4) are pivotally connected to the rod 20 adjacent the ends thereof. The lower ends of the arms 22 are connected to and received on eccentric portion (or throws) 44 on the crank shaft 18. The lower portions of the arms 22 constitute split sleeves as shown; thus the arms 22 are connected between the rod 20 and the shaft 18 in much the same manner that the conventional connecting rod connects between the piston and the crank shaft of a conventional automobile motor. The motor 14 is mounted by means of suitable bolting (not shown) to a cross member 26, preferably made of wood, which is bolted at its ends to the lower sides of the longitudinal supporting members 40 as shown. The longitudinal supports 40 are also preferably made of wood.

A shaft (or rod) 30, as best shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, extends transversely across the sides of the bed spring 12 intermediate the ends thereof. A pair of vertical supports 32, preferably made of scrap iron or the like, are bolted at their lower ends to the longitudinal supports 40 and are rotatably received at their upper ends on the rod 30. At each end of the rod 30, the rod passes through a hole 34 at the upper end of the vertical supports 32 and through correspondingly aligned holes in the sides of the spring 12 and in the brackets 42 which are riveted to the sides of the bed spring. These brackets 42 are merely additional pieces of scrap iron for reinforcing the bed spring and the intermediate pivotal connections thereto. Suitable stops 36 are mounted on the frame 10 of the bed beneath and opposite the ends of the bed spring 12. In case the drive provided by the arms 22 and the shaft 20 should fail, the stops 36 would limit the pivotal movement of the bed spring 12 with respect to the bed 10*.

Referring now to FIGURES l, 2 and 5, a large pulley 16 is keyed to the shaft 18 whereas a smaller pulley 54 is keyed to the drive shaft of the motor 14. A belt, such as the V belt 52, passes around the pulleys 16 and 54. An upper shield member 48 surrounds the smaller pulley 52, the upper half of the large pulley 16, and the upper part of the belt 52. The shield 48 connects at one end to the cross member 26 and also to the frame 10 by means of the connection 46. A lower shield 50 surrounds the lower half of the pulley 16 and is suitably bolted to the under side of adjacent supporting member 40 as shown. In order to provide proper clearance for the belt 52 an appropriate offset 58 is cut into the transverse member 26 and a horizontal slot 60 is provided in the shield 50.

The longitudinal supports 40 are preferably connected to the crib or bed 10 by means of the brackets 56 (only one of which is shown in FIGURE 1). The brackets 56 are suitably bolted to the frame of the crib 10 and the supporting members 40 are also bolted to the bracket 56; however, the bracket 56 is preferably so positioned as not to interfere with the raising and lowering of the sides of the crib. It is preferable also, that the side of the bed adjacent the motor, shields etc. be fixed and that the side of the bed or crib remote from the motor, etc. be capable of being raised or lowered.

Purely by way of example, a two speed motor was employed with a 1.75 inch diameter drive sprocket. The speeds of the motor were 1725 and 1140 r.p.m. The pulley 16 was fifteen inches in diameter. The center of the offset portion 44 was offset one-quarter inch from the center of the shaft 18 thereby providing a maximum of one-half inch of vertical movement where the arm 22 connects with the rod 20. Under the above conditions, when the motor is rotating at its upper speed of 1725 r.p.m., the sprocket 16 will be rotating at 201 r.p.m.; similarly, when a motor is rotating at its lower speed of 1140 r.p.m. the sprocket 16 will be rotating at 133 r.p.m. The mother may decide, when the baby is particularly upset, that one of the two speeds is preferable; likewise, when the baby is less upset, the mother might discover that the other speed is preferable. Naturally, the switch or switches and the wiring will be external with respect to the crib and will be out of the reach of the child or baby.

The above dimensions and speeds, etc. are given purely by Way of example. A two speed motor is preferable but not mandatory. A different ratio between the pulley sizes can be selected, but, preferably, the resulting vibration of the bed spring should be in the same order of magnitude as that disclosed herein.

Whereas the present invention has been described in particular relation to the drawings attached hereto, it should be understood that other and further modifications, apart from those shown or suggested herein, may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An oscillating bed comprising an elongated fixed bed frame, an elongated mattress frame mounted within said bed frame and pivotally connected intermediate its ends to said bed frame so as to be pivotal with respect to said bed frame about a substantially central transverse axis and means for applying a continuously reciprocating up and down movement to one end of said mattress frame.

2. An oscillating bed as set forth in claim 1 including stop means mounted on said bed frame for limiting the pivotal movement of said mattress frame.

3. -An oscillating bed as set forth in claim 1 including a pair of longitudinal supporting members fixed to said bed frame below said mattress frame, a pair of vertical supports extending upwardly from said longitudinal supports, respectively, the upper ends of said vertical supports being pivotally connected to the longitudinal sides of said mattress frame and constituting the pivotal connection between said mattress frame and said bed frame as recited above.

4. An oscillating bed as set forth in claim 3 including a transverse support connected across said longitudinal supporting members, a motor mounted on said transverse support and having a drive shaft and a drive pulley, a crank shaft mounted for rotation on said longitudinal supporting members in substantially parallel relation with the drive shaft of said motor, said crank shaft having an eccentric portion offset with respect to the center of said crank shaft, a transverse rod connected to and extending across said mattress frame above said crank shaft, an arm pivotally connected at its upper end to said rod and at its lower end to said eccentric portion of said crank shaft, a second pulley keyed to said crank shaft and being of substantially larger size than the drive pulley for said motor, a belt passing around and engageable with said pulleys so as to place said pulleys in driving relation with each other, whereby, when said motor is rotated, said one end of said bed frame will be moved upwardly and downwardly such that said bed frame will oscillate about the upper ends of said vertical supports.

5. An oscillating bed as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for applying a continuously reciprocating up and down movement to one end of said mattress frame includes means for moving said one end of said mattress frame through approximately one-half inch of vertical movement at a frequency of 133 to 201 cycles per minute.

6. An oscillating bed as set forth in claim 4 wherein the relationships between the drive speed of the motor, the relative sizes of the pulleys and the amount of offset of the eccentric portion is such that said one end of said bed frame will be displaced through approximately onehalf inch of vertical movement at a frequency of 133 to 201 cycles per minute.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,676,420 7/1928 Anderson 5-109 2,793,374 5/1957 Doud 5109 X 2,794,190 6/ 1957 Kellenbarger 5109 X 3,373,738 3/1968 Wittke 5l09 X 3,378,859 4/1968 Parker 5109 CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 5-62; 12833 

